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It’s been awhile since we’ve shared something with you all, but hopefully this will make up for lost time! The NRS film crew have an aptitude for capturing the beauty and mystique of the great outdoors and The Coast is a gem in their collection. Surfer Hayden Peters shares his insights, wisdom and undying love of the ocean and inspires us to make the absolute most out of our time on this amazing planet, however long that may be.http://www.vimeo.com/115014610

It’s kinda mind-boggling trying to imagine the magnitude of the solar system, but this short video by Wylie Overstreet and Alex Gorosh attempts to give us an opportunity to do just that. Shot on a dry lakebed in Black rock City, Nevada, these 2 lads and a group of friends built the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits in order to portray “a true illustration of our place in the universe.” Beautifully shot and explained in a way for us non-scientifically-minded folk to understand, it’s worth the watch if you have 7 minutes up your sleeve!

If you’ve got a spare 8 minutes up your sleeve, check out this heartbreakingly beautiful tribute to a man’s best friend from the crew at Felt Soul Media, made possible by Patagonia. In memory of his late dog, Denali, Ben Moon opens up his heart as he shares his journey with his longtime companion, with whom he was with through the good times and the bad. Inseparable until Denali’s last day, this short film perfectly encapsulates the unconditional love between pet and owner and will move you to tears and laughter in all the right ways. Enjoy.

It’s a sad day when you hear from the good folk at Byron Bay Surf Festival​ and they inform you broken-heartedly that they’ve had to pull the pin on the Byron Bay Surf Festival 2015.

The event has been hugely successful over the last four years and was recently awarded by Surfing Australia for its contribution to surf culture. Held in beautiful Byron Bay, the grassroots festival attracts people from near and far, who all come together to pay homage to the ocean through the art, music, workshops and other good stuff the event has showcased over the years.

Unfortunately, this year the tough decision was made to cancel the event due to a lack of funding and bureaucratic red tape that rendered the festival logistically and financially unviable this year.

The BBSF director and co-founders have postponed the event until 2016 and are now calling out to the wider ocean-minded community to ensure this event continues in future years. Please share this and reach out to anyone you know can see the benefit in keeping this unique surf culture festival alive and If you want to support or maybe know of possible major sponsors, get in touch at byronbaysurffestival@gmail.com

Big wave charger, PhD scientist, co-founder of Waves of Freedom, artist, adventurer, and all-round lover of life, Easkey Britton has many strings to her bow and although her life is positively hectic, for the past year she has been working with a bunch of equally talented women to put together the world’s first Surf and Social Good Summit.

Using surfing as a vehicle for positive change, the Summit will bring together like-minded folk from all over the globe who seek to explore and collaborate on ideas for a better future.

We asked Easkey a few questions about this exciting event that is just around the corner…

When and how did the idea for the Surf and Social Good Summit come about?

About a year ago this slowly began to take shape – it came from a need a realisation that I could only do so much on my own… Having just started Waves of Freedom, I had so many questions and I wondered how other people coped in similar situations – trying to effect change doing what they love. I wanted to ask them, how did you do that? What challenges do you face and how do you overcome them, what motivates and inspires you? Questions I’ve been asking myself and have discovered how much easier it is to find the answers to what we’re seeking when we ask! Sounds silly, that should be so obvious. But when we’re so driven by passion we can forget how important it is to reach out – it’s not a sign of weakness, but of strength – by coming together and acting collectively, creating meaningful connection we can bring about far greater impact. That’s what happened and how this collective, surfing + social good, began and continues to grow.

Your event plans to harness the power of surfing as a tool to bring about positive social change. In your opinion, what are some of the greatest challenges in achieving this change?

This is exactly the kind of question we will be asking and tackling at the Summit. For me, I see the greatest challenges as disconnect, a growing disconnect within ourselves, between each other and especially the world we live in – our environment. But perhaps the more important question is why surfing matters – why is it such a powerful force for social impact? I think surfing is such a powerful and positive metaphor for how we live life and overcome challenge. Surfing isn’t easy, it’s unpredictable, we have to leave our need to control behind and be open to the unexpected; it demands our total awareness and presence to the moment, along with a willingness to let go, flex and adapt, and exposes us to a force far greater than ourselves.

You plan to empower individuals, particularly young women and girls. What are some of the specific challenges young women and girls face compared to their male counterparts?

As momentum around surfing builds with over 35 million surfers globally and surfing rapidly growing in developing countries in particular, it’s becoming increasingly important to better understand the benefits of surfing and to acknowledge their differential effect on girls’ lives in diverse cultural and economic settings. That said, a gender perspective is largely absent in the global surf culture, especially any media that includes female voices from emerging surf cultures. And yet, surfing is proving to be a powerful force for social change in emerging surf cultures such as Iran where, through Waves of Freedom’s work with young pioneering sportswomen, surfing has become a story led by women and a medium to connect across gender, cultural, class and religious divides within the country. In Papua New Guinea, we co-facilitated an initiative launching surfing as a tool for self-empowerment and to raise awareness to end violence against women. As a result, young women experienced an increased sense of recognition in their communities, a sense of belonging and equal status in the line-up, a shift in attitudes of their expected roles, increased self-confidence and participation in local decision-making. And now we have the Girls Make Waves Action Day at the Summit on May 17th – the aim of which is to create connection and community by capturing and sharing stories like these and through them, exploring the potential for surfing to act as a catalyst to change gender-based inequalities, aiming to unveil the rich diversity of surfing women around the globe, regardless of sexuality, race, and class. Surfing is a dynamic way to build confidence, overcome fears, and connect with others in a safe space, which are all very relevant for girls and women.

This is the next step in “Sport for Gender Equality.” Sport has demonstrated its transformative power in addressing social challenges, particularly toward advancing gender equality. Organizations from the United Nations, USAID, DFID, and more have propelled it as a major tool in international gender empowerment. Surfing is the next wave in this movement- harnessing the natural power of the ocean, as a force that unifies individuals and overcomes barriers.

Involvement in surfing can positively change existing gender norms and help girls and women move into public space and become important role models for others, such Mona Seraji, Iran’s first woman of surf who is coaching other girls how to surf in her country.

What sort of fire in the belly can people expect to walk away with after the summit?

Fired up to act, inspired to start the thing they thought they couldn’t, new networks…

This is a beginning – to map out the successes and opportunities, as well as challenges and obstacles, and to form new opportunities for collaboration through research networks and project partnerships that we hope to create during our final day, the Impact Lab, May 18th. We’re going to help maintain these connections and opportunity for collaboration by partnering with Hashtag Charity (#charity), an amazing organisation bringing their tech and innovation skills to S+SG by building a collaborative platform for us to continue to work together on high-impact ideas and projects beyond the Summit.

This is about growing an active community of wave-makers globally and we’d love to get the support to offer this as global experience, with events at various locations around the world.

There are plenty of ways to connect to the cause…

– The S+SG Summit is almost full but there might still be some places left if you register here.